High drama in JKCA, Abdullah gets stay from Jammu court

Srinagar/ Jammu: High drama was today witnessed in the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) with a rebel group electing state Sports Minister Imran Ansari as the body’s President in an attempt to end Farooq Abdullah’s 35-year rein but the move was stayed by a Jammu court.

Shortly after 42 of the 64-member JKCA declared Ansari as the new President unopposed, claiming that Abdullah did not contest, a petition was moved by the former Chief Minister’s faction in the court of sub-judge Amarjeet Singh Langey, who stayed the election results.

The court, in its order, said that there was a “prima facie case requiring indulgence of the this court in so far as staying the operation of notice” for convening today’s meeting.

“Accordingly, operation of the notice dated July 9, 2015…Is stayed till next date of hearing”. The case will now come up on July 31.

Abdullah, who was re-elected as JKCA President for a three-year term in May 2014 extending his rein which began in 1980, dubbed Ansari’s election as “illegal and unconstitutional”, saying he still had nearly two years left in his tenure.

“The court has kept in abeyance the decisions of the working committee which met in Srinagar today,” Abhinav Sharma, the lawyer representing Abdullah’s faction, told PTI.

As a result, Abdullah will continue as the JKCA president and the new team will not take over till further orders, Sharma said.

Earlier, Ansari was elected unopposed by members during a working committee meeting of the JKCA which met at the Association headquarters here.

The body also elected Mehboob Iqbal, retired bureaucrat, as chairman of the Association and Iqbal Shah as General Secretary.

Abdullah accused the PDP-BJP government of dividing JKCA and people of the state.

“This meeting is illegal. I was elected and the committee was elected a year ago. We have a three-year term and this (election) is against the constitution of the JKCA so it had no standing,” Abdullah said.

“We have got a stay order against it. We are going to fight them. This is the tragedy with this government. Mufti sahib’s government wants to create problems. It has already created division between Jammu and Kashmir and is creating division in JKCA,” he said. (PTI)

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